Castle Manor Academy student Dominika Szary has been shortlisted for Volleyball England’s Young Coach of the Year Award.

As well as being an enthusiastic coach, Dom is an accomplished player.

After leading the school’s team to success in the Suffolk School Games, head of PE Mr Dovaston highlighted Dom’s potential which has led to her competing for the Eastern Region at national level.

Following this, she was recruited to the Volleyball England Satellite Academy at Boswells School in Chelmsford where she has gained knowledge from 2012 GB Olympian Rachel Laybourne as well as Darren Lewis and Rebecca Saunders.

The Haverhill Hornets Volleyball Club was formed in 2014 and Dom has been involved from the start.

This has led to selection for Volleyball England’s National Coaching Talent Development Programme which has involved travelling across the country to various events, including to shadow national team coaches.

Dom continues her work with the Haverhill Hornets where she helps run weekly recreational sessions with the development of volleyball firmly in mind.

The commitment required to balance these coaching engagements along with the weekly training sessions in Chelmsford is impressive and is helped in no small part by her dedicated mum, Kate, who has been putting the miles on their car’s clock in support of Dom’s development.

The awards will be presented at Volleyball England’s Annual Awards Evening which will be held in Kettering on Saturday the 25th of April after the first legs of the national Super-8s finals which will be played during the day.